Published: December 29, 2008 08:49 pm      

Office Depot delayed

Just about the time that Office Depot was planning to open its Corsicana store, national economic conditions changed dramatically. The company still intends to open in Navarro County, but it’s delayed the opening again.

The new target date is April, according to Melissa Perlman, spokeswoman for Office Depot.

“We announced recently that we had 112 stores closing, and as a result a lot of stores that were scheduled to open were delayed,” Perlman said. “And we’re not opening as many in 2009.

“We made the announcement based on the difficult, challenging times of the economy, the economic environment in general,” she said. “We did a complete strategic review of the company’s asset base and had to close 112 stores, and of course, we lowered the expected number of stores we’ll be opening in 2009.”

The company has 1,275 stores now, and is closing about 9 percent of those. Most of the stores being closed are in the Midwest and northeast United States. It’s also shuttering six of its 33 distribution centers. Another 14 stores will be closed in 2009 as their leases expire or other lease arrangements are made, according to the company’s press release on the changes.

Stores chosen for closure were those that were either underperforming, or weren’t selling up to expectations, Perlman explained.

“The good news is that (the Corsicana store) is still opening, it’s just been delayed,” she said.

Only 20 Office Depot stores nationwide are expected to open in 2009, down from an original plan of 40, according to the company’s Web site.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com